


Buried

by rockinellie



Category: Trolls (2016)
Genre: Developing Relationship, During The Movie, F/M, Missing Scene, relationship exploration
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-14
Updated: 2016-11-14
Packaged: 2018-08-30 21:31:26
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,825
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8549821
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rockinellie/pseuds/rockinellie
Summary: Branch doesn't want to have feelings, but this pink ray of sunshine is quite determined. Exploration during the film's timeline as to how they became friends and how his emotions developed for her.





	

**Author's Note:**

> I don't know how to tag anything because I've never posted anywhere but Tumblr before. If anyone has tips, or if I'm doing it wrong, let me know! I'll fix it.
> 
> If you've read any of my other fics you know I love to write some pining. Haha. I love tropes, and I love watching and reading the same tropes over and over!~ I just love the warm feelings. Trolls was very cute, and Branch is my precious gray baby. I find Poppy to be challenging to write, so bear with me! I hope you enjoy as much as I enjoyed writing it!

There were plenty of classroom pods in their city. In fact, there were close to a dozen, as the population had spiked once they were free from the fear of the Bergens. So it was due to the sheer amount of classroom pods that Branch was a mixture of annoyed and confused as to how he got stuck with the (younger) Princess Poppy in his. Not only was the small girl loud, she insisted on being happy constantly. That was annoying by itself but she also insisted that no one be unhappy. Needless to say, she had latched onto him as soon as she spotted him. If his colors didn’t give him away certainly his frown and disinterest in the hourly singing and dancing time would do it. For the first few years of troll school he avoided her although she made this increasingly difficult. At first it was easy enough, he would slip out a moment before the teacher was done talking and hide until he was certain she’d left. Then she had caught on and she would linger around until he came out of hiding. He had been impressed by her intelligence because honestly he had assumed she was about as bright as a bag of rocks. Unfortunately, that also meant that he had to try harder to avoid her. 

As the years wore on he stopped trying to avoid her altogether and instead allowed her to follow him home once in a while. Even if she did walk him home, she would leave soon enough to go to her actual friends’ homes to play. He wasn’t really sure when he started to feel things about her but he was willing to bet it was well before he was admitting it happened. Maybe it was the first time she made him a specialized invitation to one of her slumber parties. Or maybe it was the first time she had hunted him down and demanded to know if they were friends, and if they were, why did he avoid her. Then again, it could have been the first time he ran into her in a storm and saw her coated in mud and /still/ smiling. That was his main problem: she was brighter than the sun in so many situations. Nothing ever seemed to keep her down, nothing ever seemed to upset her for longer than a few minutes, and no matter how hard he tried to find that annoying and naïve he found it charming and sweet. Perhaps that was why everyone liked her so much but he figured that that had more to do with most of the population being morons. In fact, it was around the time they were teenagers that he noticed he hated pretty much her entire friend group. Time after time she would invite him to parties where they were going and time after time he would decline. It wasn’t that he hated her choices. It was that he hated being annoyed and they were incredibly annoying.

It was also around this time that he was allowed to move out of the small group home he was in since his Grandmother’s death. At first he considered living around the same area but that evening he changed his mind when the normal parties started up. If he was allowed to go anywhere he didn’t see what was stopping him from living out of the reaches of the city and moving into some kind of fortress. When the Bergen came back, he would be prepared! Building a secret base was more work that he originally thought. Luckily, Troll schooling was not required once someone was old enough to look after themselves. So he packed up his bags, dropped out of school, and moved into a tent to start digging his bunker. It was only a week in that he had realized he missed his cheerful friend and two weeks in that he kind of hoped she might find him. 

Week three made him figure that she was never going to find him. But it was the second day of week three when he heard someone crashing through the growth towards his work area. At first he considered lying down inside the hole until they left. But shortly he heard her, trumping through the dirt, calling out for him, and not being quiet in the least.

“Branch!” 

Groaning, he lifted his head from the small entrance to where he had been working. Her face was scrunched up as she peered around the small clearing and for a moment she paused and listened. Ooh, she must have been looking for a while if she’d resorted to shutting up and listening for him. Her attention was caught from him and she turned to see his little tent hidden under some larger leaves. Curiously she wandered over, pushing aside the largest to look at his things. As soon as she reached out towards his bag he was hopping out of the hole.

“Poppy,” He snapped. Startled, she stood up and looked around. “Can I help you?”

“There you are!” Smiling, she hopped over to him, stopping just short of hugging him. “I’ve been looking for you for three weeks! I was starting to think I’d never see you again.”

Branch rolled his eyes, “Wow, good thing you saved me from that fate.”

“What are you doing all the way out here anyway?” Ignoring his grumbling she hopped past him, peering into the hole he had been digging. She knelt at the entrance, looking into the dimly lit space. He joined her, kneeling next to her before hopping into the hole and holding his hand out to her. Poppy slipped her hand into his and he helped her down into the cavern. The area was substantial, almost big enough to act as a living space. The walls were smooth and the ceiling was tall. There were a few glowing mushrooms on the floor against the far wall, where he was clearly still working. There were a few shelves carved into one of the walls and the floor was half smoothed out already.

“I thought…if I’m allowed to decide where I live why can’t I make my own place? Now when the Bergens come for us, I’ll be safe.” Branch said, smiling to himself.

Poppy ran her hand on the wall as she walked the length of the room. “Branch, this is very impressive! But, well, why do you want to live so far away from everyone?”

“Really? That’s the question?” Branch scoffed, “I haven’t exactly been quiet about how much I hate how loud you all are all the time. When the Bergens come, they’re going to find all of you really quickly. If I live away from that, they can’t find me.”

“Right. But won’t you be lonely if nobody knows where you live?”

“You know where I live.”

Poppy turned to look at him, quirking an eyebrow. Branch felt a warmth run over his cheeks and was grateful for the poor lighting. Coughing, he brushed past her to get to his shelves. From there he pulled out a folded piece of paper, and gestured for her to come with him towards the mushrooms. He sat on the ground and spread the paper out. Poppy sat next to him.

He tapped the paper, which now that it was unfolded, revealed the blueprints to the room they were in. “This is where we are. My plan is to move my temporary campground into this main room, and then continue working. I want to dig underground some more, add some reserves-“

“But Branch,” Poppy interrupted, “Don’t you think this is a lot of work for something that’s probably never going to happen?”

“If you guys keep partying so loud, someday they’re going to find us. I don’t want to be eaten when they do.”

“So you’d rather be alone?” She was barely whispering, which caught his attention. When he did look at her, she was looking at him, frowning. Branch considered her, looking over her sad eyes and her tense body. If she was really so concerned why didn’t she help him try to make their lives safer? After a while of staring at each other he cleared his throat and turned back to the paper. 

“If my choices are being alone and safe…and being with your friends and in danger, I’m going to choose safe. Every time.” Her eyes burned into him, and he felt a warmth spreading up his neck and towards his cheeks. There was something about her frankness that made his tongue slip around her. Branch had no desire to let her know that she might mean something more to him than general disdain and that her years of bothersome friendship had penetrated his cool outer shell. Then again, it was possible she knew on some level. Poppy was not stupid (even if she acted a bit silly) and he knew that she knew that she was his only friend. Maybe she also knew that his feelings for her ran deeper than just friendship despite his desperate attempts at stomping out anything beyond quiet acceptance. Even if she did know there was no reason for him to confirm it for her. So he was going to attempt to not let her be privy to his emotions and struggled to keep his demeanor. Eventually he felt her gaze shift to the blueprints in front of them and involuntarily his shoulders relaxed.

“Okay. Well, what if it rains? Won’t the ceiling get all muddy?” 

“I think it will be okay. It rained the other day, remember? I was in here during that.”

Poppy gasped, “What if it had collapsed? Nobody knew where you were! You could have gotten hurt, you could have been buried under the dirt, and you’d be stuck here! That was really irresponsible, Branch!” Even with his attempt at self-control it was clear that Poppy shared no similar ideas. Branch was pretty sure she wouldn’t even know how to hide her emotions if their lives depended on it. From the way her face scrunched up, her mouth turned into a concerned and taught frown, to the way her hands formed tiny fists holding the edge of her skirt, her emotions rang out for anyone who could pay attention for two moments. Or one, even. “You have to be more careful! What if something happens?”

Branch stared openly, his jaw a little slack. When she looked at him for a response he snapped it shut, frowning and closing his eyes to try to regain the composure he seemed to be losing so quickly around her. “Yes, well. I didn’t think about nobody knowing where I was. I guess-“ He was startled into silence by her swatting his shoulder.

“You! Didn’t think?” 

“Let me finish! Ahem. If it’s so important to you I suppose when it’s raining, or after or whatever, you can come check on me.” Branch rubbed the back of his neck, looking at the floor while his offer hung in the air. She was quiet for a moment and they both felt the meaning behind his words. For a moment, his heart was still and he was certain beyond doubt that she would laugh and tell him he’d be fine, that it wasn’t /that/ serious anyway. When she took in her breath to respond his heart suddenly sprung to life, pounding so hard in his ears he could barely hear her answer.

“That sounds nice.” His eyes snapped to her immediately but she wasn’t looking at him. Instead, her gaze was trained at the blueprints spread before her. 

He smiled a little, “Good, then it’s settled. You can come up when it’s raining and make sure I don’t get caved in on, and I can build this hideaway.”

“Great! And we can sing and I can bring snacks!” Poppy hopped up, clapping her hands together. Branch hopped up too, clasping his hands over hers. Looking up at him she frowned before asking, “What?”

“No singing, please. If you’re going to come, you can, but just-look I don’t want anyone knowing where I am. You found me, so that’s fair, and I don’t-“ Branch stopped short, frowning. “Just, no one else. Your singing can be heard through almost anything, Poppy, I don’t want anyone hearing you.”

“Thank you!” Poppy cried delightedly, smiling at him. “I’ve really been working on pitch and projection techniques lately!”

“Not a compliment, Poppy. I’m serious.” 

His gaze /was/ serious and his mouth was set in its perpetual frown. They had been in this situation before and if Poppy continued being herself they’d have it again. However, this time it seemed different. Maybe it was the proximity. Or, more likely, that he had grabbed both of her hands in his and was standing awfully close to her. In any case, she was looking up at him without her usual toothy grin. Her mouth was set into a small, unsure smile. The small space between them seemed too wide suddenly and as he was thinking maybe it would be okay to close it she took it upon herself. One step forward and her body was a hair’s width from his. Surprised, he watched as she switched hand positions with him, pulling her hands from his to take his in hers instead, and holding them apart so she could close the distance fully. Branch’s cheeks turned dark gray as she leaned into him and he was certain she could hear his body thrumming with anticipation. It had been years that he had been considering what exactly his peppy princess would taste like. He had settled on honey and sunshine and it looked like he would be finding out exactly how close his fantasies were. As she leaned up, her eyes fluttering closed, he leaned down, attempting to close the distance between them before she changed her mind.

Right before their lips touched, he froze. One of her hands had slipped from his and now it was tangled in his black hair. As they often used their hair as a fifth limb, a troll’s hair was pretty sensitive. Branch’s breath caught in his throat and for a moment he couldn’t really think beyond a mantra of: “Her hand is in my hair”. But shortly he yanked back his hands reaching up to touch his hair while he stared at her. His chest rose and fell in short, panicky sort of gasps, and his cheeks were almost black from how dark he was blushing. 

“Too far?” Poppy asked quietly, blushing herself. Even despite clearly knowing she was in the wrong she looked at him. Was that…amusement on her face? Branch felt a stab to his heart and his surprise gave way to anger.

“Get out.”

Poppy’s small smile slipped away immediately and she whispered, “What?”

“You heard me, Poppy, get out!” Branch hissed, making a face at her. “Don’t come back, don’t-just go!”

“Branch, come on! Don’t you want-“

“Nothing from you!” 

Poppy looked surprised and she jerked back, pulling her lip into her mouth to bite on. When her eyes turned glassy, Branch started to regret his harsh words. Maybe she was just being Poppy. And maybe he had been harsh to jump to her fooling him. After all, she was the one with her hands in his hair. That was intimate in and of itself. But now maybe he’d ruined his chance with his princess. Before he could utter and apology she was moving for the exit. As she lifted herself out of his empty cave he rushed after her, calling out for her to stop. By the time he reached the entrance she was already gone, no doubt running off once she was out of his sight. Damn. 

Groaning, he lifted himself out and made his way to his camp. Flopping onto his make-shift bed he noticed a pink envelope with his name written in glitter on the outside. It looked like she had another motive to find him today. Flipping it open he saw a very enthusiastic “you’re invited” with his name in glitter at the bottom of some kind of drawing of herself. Hopefully she would show up the next time it rained. Although he wasn’t quite ready to let her play with his hair, he was ready to begin to let her into his life. Even as friends he was sure it would be nicer to have her around than to be entirely alone. Plus, she had good ideas sometimes. Even practically she was worth having around! It was definitely not because he wanted to find out if his dreams were correct. Definitely not. Branch was certainly not the type to have her hang around so he could find out impractical things like if her lips were as soft as he’d imagined…definitely not. 

But it wouldn’t hurt if he found out.


End file.
